Things are moving quickly for Len Wiseman’s Total Recall remake. First, Colin Farrell snagged the lead role back in January. Then, Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston joined the cast as the villain, Vilos Cohaagen, a few months later.
Earlier this month, we reported that Ethan Hawke was set for a cameo in the movie, and now we have news on three more important additions to the film. Could Wiseman’s remake cast surpass that of the much-loved original film?
According to an exclusive report at Collider, both Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel have officially joined Total Recall. As in the original film, Quaid (Farrell) will have two love interests. The first is his “wife” Lori, who is actually involved in a plot against him. The other is Melina, the woman Quaid falls in love with while he is fighting for the resistance.
Kate Beckinsale (Wiseman’s wife and the star of his Underworld films) will take on the role of Lori, which was played by Sharon Stone in the original film, while Biel will be taking the part of Melina. Neither Beckinsale or Biel are surprises in the cast, since the former is frequently cast in her husband’s films, and Biel was one of the rumored candidates for the other lead role.
In addition to the Beckinsale and Biel news, The Hollywood Reporter has reported that Bill Nighy is joining the cast as Quatto, the leader of the resistance movement (not Kuato as the original film spelled it). Like Beckinsale, Nighy is also a veteran of Wiseman’s Underworld films. As nice as it is to see two lovely ladies like Beckinsale and Biel join Total Recall, I’m really more excited to see Nighy join the cast. The 61-year-old British actor just seems to class up every movie he’s in.
Wiseman’s remake, which isn’t set on Mars, is expected to be a bit more realistic than the original film. Does that mean that Nighy won’t have to go through hours of make-up to have a fetus-like mutant stuck onto his stomach? Only time will tell.
Does this new casting news increase your anticipation for Total Recall at all, or does it make no difference?
